Lox

Lox is a hip-hop group from Yonkers, New York, made up of Jayson “Jadakiss” Phillips, David Styles and Sean “Sheek” Jacobs. The group begins as high school students, when they form under the name the Bomb Squad and start performing and distributing their own demos. They later change their name to the Warlocks and build an underground following through mix tapes before signing to Bad Boy after Mary J. Blige passes their tape to Sean “Puffy” Combs.

Early career and breakthrough

The group gains wider attention in 1997 with “We’ll Always Love Big Poppa”, a tribute to the Notorious B.I.G. It becomes a multi-platinum release and brings the group into the mainstream. Lox then appears on a number of notable hit singles, including Puff Daddy’s “Benjamins”, Mase’s “24 Hours to Live” and Mariah Carey’s “Honey”.

Albums and style

Their debut album, Money Power & Respect, goes platinum and establishes them as an important rap group. The group is known for a hard-edged lyrical style and for telling detailed stories about urban life. Their early reputation also comes from freestyles on underground mix tapes, with themes of sex, murder and violence. After joining Ruff Ryders, they release We Are the Streets, with production from Swizz Beatz, as well as contributions from The Hitmen, Timbaland and P. Killer. The album includes tracks such as “Wild Out”, “Fuck You”, “Y’all Fucked Up Now” and “If U Know”, the last of which features Drag-On and Eve. Styles, Jadakiss and Sheek also each appear as solo performers on the album.

Place in hip-hop

Lox is presented as a group rooted in East Coast rap and New York street storytelling, with a sound shaped by underground mixtape culture and major-label collaborations. The group’s material is described as part of the broader tradition of hip-hop as a voice for ordinary people.